Innholdsfortegnelse for November - December 2022 i Classic Racer

ARCHIVE In a rich history of ‘racer-replicas’ they don’t get much better than this… Racing surely improves the breed, which is why road-riders have enjoyed the benefits of technology trickling down to their mounts: think of Suzuki’s 1980s endurance racers and the road-going GSX-R750F – which would then return to the track as a proddie racer itself… We think this bike is the ultimate homage to a race machine even if it’s based on a road bike. It’s the work of Allen Millyard, who has built some amazing bikes, including one powered by a V10 Dodge Viper engine and ‘The Flying Millyard’ powered by part of an aero engine. This is a copy of Honda’s 1966 RC166 ‘six-cylinder’ 250cc racer, campaigned by big names such as Mike Hailwood. A number…

PEOPLE The Jefferies Dynasty, at least as far as motorcycling goes, reaches back almost to the advent of the motorcycle itself. David Jefferies’ great grandfather, Joseph, was a picture framer by trade but was also something of a visionary as far as motorised vehicles went. In 1901, he and some like-minded friends formed the Ross Motor and Cycle Company in Shipley's old steam tram shed near the Ross Hotel. When that partnership eventually floundered, Joseph broke away and started his own business nearby, repairing cars, motorcycles, and bicycles. “My grandpa Joe was a bit of a motor car pioneer and entrepreneur,” Tony Jefferies explained before his untimely death in 2021. “He and a couple of mates went to France and bought a De Dion Bouton (a French car manufactured between…

ONTRACK The CRMC’s Donington Classic Motorcycle Festival has evolved into one of the classic racing world’s most popular events, and this year’s was bigger and better than ever with new sponsors, insurance giants Bennetts and the Yamaha Heritage Racing Club (YHRC), providing their support. With the weather generally behaving well, the large crowds took the opportunity to roam freely around the many static motorcycle exhibits, retail outlets and displays of historic race machinery. The large YHRC exhibit, under the auspices of Jeff Turner and Ferry Brouwer, had a stellar display of machines from Yamaha’s racing history and a guest list of famous riders from the company’s past and present including Phil Read, Chas Mortimer, Brian Reid, Alan North, Alan Carter, Steve Parrish and Donnie McLeod plus reigning BSB champion Tarran…

The next issue of Classic Racer is on sale on December 15. The editor reserves the right to move things about a bit, depending on space available to bring you the best motorcycle racing features from across many decades! So don’t moan at him if something isn’t in the mag – instead, why not get a subscription? Check out page 22. PLUS: // RACE REPORTS // LINE ART // WHATEVER HAPPENED TO // YOUR RACE MACHINES AND PICTURES AND MUCH, MUCH MORE! * THE JEFFERIES DYNASTY CONTINUED WITH NICK JEFFERIES BOZ NIGEL BOSWORTH’S AMAZING RACE AND MANAGERIAL CAREER! DAVE STREET RACER, DEALER, ACTOR! HONDA BRITAIN THE INSIDE STORY ROSSI vs BIAGGI THE RIVALRY!…

ARCHIVE Some of the fittest sportsmen on the planet in the 1980s and 90s were backed by cigarette companies… Be it a 500cc, 250cc or 125cc Grand Prix bike or a circa 1990s British Superbike, some of the biggest teams in racing had fag backing. The irony was that most of the athletes riding these machines were non-smokers – we will mention a couple of exceptions below… In the 1980s through to the 90s, a 500cc two-stroke GP bike was around 131kilos (or lower) and pumped out 160bhp (or higher!) Meanwhile a superbike was probably around 120-130bhp and a bit lardier – around 160-170kilos, maybe more. This meant that the riders plonked on top needed to be on top of their game fitness-wise and yet the logos often emblazoned on…

PEOPLE To race on the Isle of Man Mountain circuit has been the ambition of generations of club racers, and in the early postwar years demand for entries invariably exceeded the number available. From 1947 the Clubman’s TT enabled a good number of aspiring Manx Grand Prix and TT riders to learn the course under more appropriate conditions, on sportsbikes and without the presence of international riders and teams, but the Clubman’s was crowded out of the Golden Jubilee TT calendar in 1957 and never came back. To help meet the demand for entries, the Manx Grand Prix later in that same year included a four-lap Newcomers’ Race, separate from the main races and with the 350cc and 500cc events run concurrently. The higher-placed finishers were invited to take part…

IN DETAIL: The race bikes on a MotoGP grid today are full-on factory racers: 48 years ago when Suzuki launched its factory version of the RG500 designated XR14, the GP grids were very different. They consisted of either factory bikes or ‘over the counter’ racers. The latter were mostly aging British singles, a few Kawasaki H1Rs and some 351cc TZ Yamahas. By 1976, the XR14 had proven fast and reliable enough to enable Barry Sheene to win the championship. That same year the RG500 Mk.I was made available to qualified racers. Imagine contacting your local Suzuki dealer, presenting racing credentials and ordering a competitive machine for the premier world championship class! The RGs were super competitive, being only fractions of a second slower than the factory XRs. RG development mirrored…

PEOPLE Kork Ballington, along with his girlfriend Bronwyn, and brother Dozy felt like lambs going to the slaughter as they set off for Europe. The bikes and tools had been dispatched by sea – the team of greenhorns flew out of South Africa to meet the kit. Kork figured they would see Europe, see real Grand Prix bike racing, and return at the end of 1973 financially poorer, but richer for the experience. He says: “Dozy had given up a good job as a technician at a cash register company to come on the trip to Europe.” If only he knew… As the Boeing 747 flew into Heathrow, Kork looked out of the window and all he saw was grey. No trees: just grey, gloomy housing. It did little to…

Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, has often put that country on the world motorcycle map. One such story concerns the ‘Dukes of Wellington’ along with rider Robert Holden, who gained world prominence in a career that spanned the 1980s and early 1990s. Holden’s racing career started with the Wellington Motorcycle Centre. One of New Zealand’s most successful dealerships, it was a powerhouse that used production racing as a tool to leverage massive sales. In the 1970s the Hiscock brothers, Dave and Neville, had launched their international careers through this energetic business. In the 1980s Robert Holden became the next Wellington generation to start a career with this dealership that had direct links with overseas factories and race teams. Holden’s international career has been well documented. What hasn’t been widely…

ARCHIVE Simon Crafar has the strange honour of being the best rider never to have won a World Superbike race, and yet when he went to 500cc GPs he became one of the few to beat the dominant Mick Doohan… Crafar was Malaysian Superbike champion in 1991 and he spent time in the UK too, racing a long-in-the-tooth Castrolbacked RC30 in 1992. For 1993 he ended up in 500s riding a privateer Harris Yamaha YZR, before he got signed up by Oscar Rumi’s semi-factory RC45 team for the 1994 season. Even in the factory team, the RC45 was a fickle beast, but by 1995 Simon had ‘inherited’ Doug Polen’s factory machine, even if it still ran in Rumi colours. By the Assen round that year (where Carl Fogarty took his…

TEST Thirty years ago, on July 12, 1992, a modern two-wheeled fairytale came true. In a brave and tactically brilliant display of wet-weather riding on a drying track, four-time World champion (three with Yamaha, one with Honda) Eddie Lawson won the 500cc Hungarian GP on a Cagiva, to give the Italian marque its first road racing Grand Prix victory in 12 years of trying. After the race was halted after the first lap by a thunderstorm, the restart saw all riders on full wets – except Lawson, who fitted a front intermediate and rear cut slick. The first few laps on a sodden track tested Eddie’s skills to the limit, with no rear grip and carbon brake discs that barely worked. But he soldiered on in 7th place, over a…

PEOPLE Continuing from part one, Irimajirisan and I were enjoying a motorcycle ride in rural Japan, and I loved the fact that I could experience a side of Japanese life that most people will rarely see. I was riding a BMW R1200 RT and Irimajirisan a BMW R1200 ST and we had hooked up with Ken Nemoto, the publisher of Rider's Club magazine. Ken-san was there to truly give us the experience of traditional Japan and all from the saddle of a two-wheeler. Our frequent stops not only allowed me time to experience genuine Japanese culture, but to quiz my good friend about more facets of his astonishing career. Starr: How were you approached about Freddie Spencer. When did you realise that he had the potential to be a world…

ONTRACK If there’s one thing guaranteed in these uncertain times it is that CRMC’s annual outing to Cadwell Park will attract a bumper entry, and this year was no exception as for many competitors it’s their favourite UK circuit with its gloriously challenging layout and stunning, rural scenery. Unfortunately the race gods were in no mood to make things easy for organisers, racers and spectators alike and when a three-hour power cut hit the area halfway through Saturday morning’s qualifying it meant that one complete round of races had to be cancelled. It then proceeded to rain throughout the rest of the day making for some tricky but exciting racing. Sunday saw mainly dry weather but also a couple of lengthy delays to deal with track condition issues so it…